How to use windows command prompt

Ping something. Whatever you choose, if you get a response, you know a connection is there. This command is also useful for checking if local network systems are functioning properly. Although there are plenty of Windows and third-party tools for checking a drive for errors, Check Disk is a classic that works well and could save you from losing data if it finds a problem early enough. Warning: This one can take some time.

Netstat — This command displays all sorts of information about existing connections to your PC, including TCP connections, ports on which your system is listening, Ethernet statistics, and the IPRouting table. Exit — This does exactly what you would expect it to do.

Tasklist — Tasklist gives you immediate data on all the tasks that Windows is currently operating. These are some of our favorites that often fly under the radar. This one will often clear up any problems you have. This clears the Windows cache of DNS details, meaning that Windows will start using your preferred option instead. For example, you can press Tab to automatically complete it rather than typing out a full file path.

If what it serves isn't what you need, just keep pressing Tab to progress through the options. If you want to save the output of the Command Prompt, then you could copy it, paste it into a text editor, and then save. But there's a quicker method, all within Command Prompt. You can also output to your clipboard, ready to paste elsewhere. To do this, input your command followed by clip.

For example, ipconfig clip. This will end the command up to the point that it'd processed. It won't reverse what has already been done, but it will stop it from going any further.

You'll find a lot of commands will complete before you even have time to press the keys, but it's useful for those that do without having to exit Command Prompt completely. If there are multiple commands you want to use, you don't need to input each in turn and wait for them to complete.

You can do this for however many commands you need. It's not just limited to two. The default black and white appearance of the Command Prompt is iconic, but it doesn't hurt to mix things up a bit. To begin customizing the look, right-click the title bar of Command Prompt and click Properties. Begin with the Font tab. Replaced by kb16 in newer Windows versions. Also allows you to end sessions on servers. All Win md Creates a new directory on the specified path.

You can also use the command to split the output of another command into pages. You can write the username into the command or create files in which usernames are saved. The files can then be included in the command with filename. XP path Creates and displays the path for searching executable files. The user is then prompted in a message to continue by pressing a key. The command is mainly part of batch files and scripts.

The device to be used for printing has to be specified. You can change to this directory with popd. This must not contain any files, even hidden ones. For example, you can run a command as an administrator from a normal user account as long as you know the password.

The program searches data carriers for errors. You can create, delete, change, and display all scheduled tasks. EXE and lets you configure them. All Win subst Assigns a drive letter to a path to create a virtual drive.

The process ID also has to be specified, which is required for the taskkill command, for example. The command Is used in batch files and scripts. Spaces are allowed, but not all special characters such as a slash, for example, because they may be interpreted as instructions for a parameter.

The command takes into account all subdirectories starting from the given path. You can use the asterisk as a wild card. After the command, changes are applied to the entire system again localization is started with setlocal. The program is part of Internet Explorer, but can also be used in the command prompt. This command is usually used in batch and script files.

Usually used for batch and script files. Can be extended by not if commands are only not to be executed under certain conditions. The command can also change the names of directories. By default, the command overwrites other files with the same name when moving files to the destination.

Directory and drive cannot be changed this way or use the rename command. This is an extended version of copy and xcopy. There are a total of 72 parameters with which the copy command can be modified.

After the command, changes only apply to these files localization is started with endlocal. DOS verify When enabled, checks whether files are written correctly on a data drive.

The check is disabled in the standard settings. In this way, the command offers various additional options. These can be recovered with restore replaced by msbackup. DOS bcdboot Creates and repairs start files. This sets access rights outdated — replaced by icacls in newer Windows versions. Is only available to support older DOS programs. An older version of the command is called dblspace. XP fdisk Creates, deletes, and manages partitions on the hard drive.

Use diskpart in newer Windows versions. This sets access rights. An outdated version of this command is cacls. All Win logman Creates and manages event trace sessions and performance logs. Use -on to encrypt a drive. Use -off to decrypt it again and end BitLocker protection. All Win mountvol Creates and deletes mount points for drives and displays them. XP pkgmgr Installs, uninstalls, and configures packages and functions for Windows.

Users can create new keys reg add or delete them reg delete. The files should be saved on a replacement drive. You can also use the rwinsta command. DOS rwinsta Command has the same function as reset. Settings can also be configured, imported, and exported with this command. Incorrect versions are replaced by correct ones.

This makes it bootable. The information can be obtained from the local system as well as a remote computer. These are virtual smartcards encrypted on the basis of the Trusted Platform Model.

DOS unlock Unlocks a drive that was locked with the lock command. DOS vssadmin Manages the volume shadow copy services that can be used to store different versions snapshots of drives. All Win winsat Evaluates various system factors — for example, processor performance or graphical capabilities. Various Windows settings can be changed here — both locally and on remote computers. XP certreq Manages and creates certificate registration requirements for certification authorities.

The command offers additional options: For example, you can activate debugging with -d. DOS intersvr Starts an interlnk server and transfers data from one computer to another via serial or parallel connection. XP irftp Transfers files via infrared connection, if one is available. Also enables the command to delete tickets purge.

To use the command, enable NFS services. You can also specify another DNS server. XP pathping Provides information on forwarding and package loss when sending over a network and also specifies the latency. The duration of the echo can also be specified. Ping signals can be sent continuously with -t.

All Win qappsrv Displays all available remote computers in the network. The result displays the programs on the remote computer to use the command, NFS services on Windows have to be enabled first.

These are unique identifiers for services on a network that uses Kerberos authentication. The user can also actively control the remote computer. To use the command, the TFTP client first needs to be enabled in the system settings. All packages have a set time-to-live TTL , which is increased gradually with the command. All Win tscon Connects the current local user session with a session on a remote computer.

If the target computer supports it, the entire computer can be turned off in this way. XP umount Removes mounted network file system drives. To use the command, the NFS functions first have to be enabled in the system settings. Computers within a network are synchronized with one another through this command. These are forwarded from remote event sources that support the WS management protocol.

If you want to disable encryption, use -un. Related Products. View packages. Build a real estate website With a real estate website, you can set yourself apart from the competition Handyman website With the right tools, a homepage for tradesmen can be created quickly and legally compliant This set of documentation describes the Windows Commands you can use to automate tasks by using scripts or scripting tools.

Windows has two command-line shells: the Command shell and PowerShell. Each shell is a software program that provides direct communication between you and the operating system or application, providing an environment to automate IT operations. The Command shell was the first shell built into Windows to automate routine tasks, like user account management or nightly backups, with batch. With Windows Script Host, you could run more sophisticated scripts in the Command shell.

For more information, see cscript or wscript. You can perform operations more efficiently by using scripts than you can by using the user interface. Scripts accept all commands that are available at the command line. PowerShell was designed to extend the capabilities of the Command shell to run PowerShell commands called cmdlets.